While at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke confirmed that quarterback Colin Kaepernick will stay will the team and be part of its roster once it's finalized in April. The announcement made by the GM seems to put an end to rumors about the athlete transferring to the New York Jets.
Aside from being on the roster, April 1 will mark the day when Kaepernick's base salary of $11.9 million for this season will be finalized.
News about Kaepernick's renewed status with the 49ers may have come as a surprise for most NFL fans especially given the quarterback's performance last season.
As noted by Yahoo! News, Kaepernick struggled last year and managed to throw only six touchdowns and only gained a completion rate of 59 percent. To make matters worse for the athlete, Kaepernick lost his starting position to former backup Blaine Gabbert. He was then benched for the rest of the season due to an injury on his left shoulder.
Then, earlier this year, the athlete stated that he's interested in leaving the 49ers to play for the Jets.
But, despite the unfavorable relationship between the San Francisco NFL franchise and Kaepernick, it seems both parties are now willing to start fresh. However, it is not yet clear if the 28-year-old athlete will get his starting position back or if it will remain with Gabbert.
Although Baalke did not comment on who will be the team's starting quarterback, he said that the current focus is on Kaepernick's health and condition.
"I think the good thing is we've got two guys that have gone into games who've proven they can play, and Colin's done some awful good things through his career, won some big games for the San Francisco 49ers and we expect him to come back," he said during the combine according to ESPN.
"The main focus right now is health, getting him healthy," Baalke added. "He's done a good job with his rehab. Talking to the medical staff, that seems to be going very well, and [we] just look forward to getting him back and getting him working with his coaching staff."
